You may have noticed that I haven’t written since we came
back to our home province. It’s not that
Ontario is boring, just that we’ve been overwhelmed by our social life here. On
our long trip around Canada and the US, we’ve spent time with far-flung family,
visited distant old friends and made several new ones. But we also spent many
days and even weeks on the road disconnected, with only a weekly phone call to
our daughters. We were certainly never lonely, having an abundance of new
places to explore and new things to try. We reached out to touch our family and
friends through postcards, Facebook, and of course our blog.
Once we parked our trailer in Kingston, where my family is
located, we joyfully gave and attended several family dinners, catching up on old news
and new developments. But that wasn’t
all.
The first two weeks in Kingston we hosted our young
granddaughters at the campground. This place is great for children. There is an
active duck pond – small ducklings included – and peacocks that roam the grounds.
A swimming pool, beach, and playground kept the kiddies’ energy level moderate,
and we threw in an occasional hike up the nearby hill when necessary. Expending
the children’s energy was such a good plan, but it seemed that I was using a
lot more than they were! They were looking for more to do even after I was
drained and draped over a lawn chair.
After school started, my sister and brother-in-law took us out on their sailboat for a few
days to tour the Thousand Islands in the St. Laurence River. As neither hubby nor
I had sailed before, casting off was exciting. But what a thrill when the sail
went up! With the wind behind us and the motor silenced, it was a gentle ride
to our first moorage. In the evening, the wind became stronger, rocking the
boat all night. We were quite comfortable with the motion and slept well, not
even noticing when our hosts popped up on deck to check that the anchor held.
The next two nights we sheltered in among small islands. We all went for walks
on islands set aside as part of a National Park, and my sister and I swam in the clear
water off the boat. We spent peaceful evenings on the deck and blew the conch
shell at sundown. What bliss! This was just like being in our trailer, but on water instead of wheels.
Coming home, we had a stiff cross wind. I would love to say
that we just skimmed over the waves with the sail up. The reality is that the
waves were 6 feet high, causing a bit of a pitch and roll. The sail was indeed up and, billowed out with
the wind, it gave a decided slant to the deck. Any anxiety from this on my part
was alleviated by the smile on the face of our captain, as he faced the
challenge of each wave with undisguised pleasure. All too soon the ride ended,
and we had to return to our land locked trailer.
The rest of the time we have been spending with our family and daughters nearby, and catching up on medical and dental appointments. Admiring the lovely fall colours during our drives and hikes. But now there is a chill in the air that we just aren't used to anymore. We are dragging out the thick hoodies to wear and turning on the electric heaters at night. We even had to clean out the back of the truck to find the ice scraper we brought with us! So it seems it's time to plan our next travel segment. After spending a year and a half finding new
corners and roads in this country that we love and our neighbor to the south , it is time to explore my
adopted-by-marriage homeland: the Philippines.
It’s a certainty that it won’t be boring.
W
